Winner #1 and Giveaway #2 + Garage Sale Info

AND THE WINNER IS.........(drumroll please)..........

HAYLEY!!!!

Congratulations! Please get in touch with me at jlandskcox@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Thanks so much to everyone who spread the word about the giveaway for us, bought t-shirts and entered your name in the drawing. And thanks again to Monica for the great Amway basket. We are so amazed at the outpouring of support!

Just to recap for those of you just now tuning in...we have been given the AMAZING opportunity to partner with the Dubois family for the entire month of October. All proceeds from t-shirts sold at www.goseeklove.com go directly to our adoption fund. They are beautiful & make great Christmas presents - go check them out! We need your help though...buying the shirts, spreading the word and reading our blog. In an effort to encourage participation, we are doing a free giveaway each Sunday in October!!! Now on to GIVEAWAY #2:

Okay, all of you in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, LISTEN UP!
I've got a wonderful giveaway this week for you!

My sweet, sweet friend Jennifer makes the most BEAUTIFUL custom cakes and is in the beginning stages of getting her cake-making business going. For our giveaway this week, she has so generously donated...

A free custom-made 9x13 cake!!!

Do you have a birthday party coming up? How about a wedding shower, baby shower, anniversary or holiday party? Now is your chance to win a personalized theme cake for whatever special event is in the near future! I mean, who doesn't need a cake for something?!?! If it were me, I would be so excited to get in this drawing! Not only are her cakes beautiful but they are delicious too! Here are a few of the cakes that she has made (click to make the pictures larger):



She is so talented and her prices are very reasonable! To get in touch with Jennifer about a custom-made cake for your special event, please email her at jbro106642@yahoo.com. You can also check out more cakes she has made on her facebook page HERE.

Here are the rules again of how you can get into the drawing for this free cake:

1. Become a Follower of this blog (if you already are a follower just say so in the comments - you can only play this card once all month). Under Followers on the bottom right side of my blog, just click "Follow" and WALLAH, you have your name in the drawing once!

2. Post about this giveaway and our t-shirt sales on Facebook (you can do this again even if you already did last time)

3. Post about this giveaway and our t-shirt sales on your Blog (same thing - you can do this again even if you already did last time)

4. Head on over to Jennifer's facebook website to check out her beautiful cakes HERE

5. and 6. BUYING A T-SHIRT at www.goseeklove.com gets you TWO entries!

Be sure to leave a comment telling me EACH entry that you make and how many t-shirts you bought. Winner will be selected at random by a drawing on Sunday, October 17th and will be posted on my blog. Have your entries in no later than Saturday, October 16th at 6:00pm. I so appreciated all of the posts on facebook & blogs and those that bought t-shirts last giveaway but not all of you left a comment for the drawing! I really want you guys to be blessed as well, but unless there is a comment on my blog for what you did, your name will not be in the drawing. Don't forget! :-)

Check back each week for a new giveaway. Thank you so much for helping us spread the word and supporting our efforts to bring our daughter home. We couldn't do this without you!

I know this post is getting long, but the next order of business is our Garage Sale...it is this coming weekend - I can't believe it! We are still accepting donations, baked goods, walmart sacks, hangers, tables and hanging clothes racks. We need your help spreading the word about our garage sale, and we need YOU to come!

Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16
at our home
email me at jlandskcox@yahoo.com for my address

Have a great week!!!

GO into all the world.
SEEK first the kingdom of God.
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.

a first {elijah's field trip}

I will post the Amway giveaway winner on Sunday morning along with the new giveaway for next week! I have some great prizes coming up!!! Get your comments in by Saturday at 6:00 pm to be in this week's drawing. A lot of you have bought t-shirts and posted on blogs/fb but haven't put in a comment - get your name in! For information about our t-shirt fundraiser and free giveaway this week, click HERE. All proceeds from t-shirts bought at www.goseeklove.com for the month of October go toward our adoption fund. Please keep spreading the word for us!!!

We've been to the zoo A LOT...I mean, we have zoo passes.
But this time was different.
This time Elijah experienced his first ever field trip.
First time to ride on a big yellow school bus.
He was so excited!

His little 1st grade class is just precious.
I really enjoyed getting to know some of his friends better.
Sweet, sweet kids.
And Judah thought he was big stuff eating lunch with Elijah's class.

Ms. White was so sweet to explain each exhibit to the kids.
The birds were by far the favorite of all.

A sweet parent bought each child a bird seed stick to feed the birds.
They were so cute, each trying so hard to get their bird to stand on their stick.

The weather was beautiful.
The perfect time to go to the zoo.
And the kids had a blast!

PINK Oktoberfest

If you're here because you've heard about our October t-shirt sales and/or for details on our FREE giveaway this week, scroll down to the post below this one. The first drawing is on Sunday so put in your comments asap to get your name in! Remember, all proceeds from t-shirts sold at www.goseeklove.com go toward our adoption fund this whole month!!!

I maybe bought this adorable pink tutu & matching flower bow
while we were at Oktoberfest this past weekend.



Maybe.
I've never been accused of liking pink or of being very girly.
But something inside my heart just leapt when I saw this staring me in the face.
I "had" to have it for HER.
Our first official purchase for our daughter.
I can't wait to put it on her and take her picture.
My little girl.


The boys had a great time at Oktoberfest as well.
While their mother was turning into a sap about the tutu,
they enjoyed the weenie dog races.
And eating some weenies...hot dogs & sausage on a stick.

Of course we "had" to get a funnel cake too.
They literally licked the plate clean of powdered sugar.

I think most of it landed on their chins...and mustaches...
and noses...and cheeks.
But they didn't seem to mind.

Elijah jumped in the bounce houses, went rock climbing,

and beat up a kid with a big plush tube.
I'm actually not quite sure who won, but he sure did enjoy it.

I think we'll need to make Oktoberfest a yearly tradition.
It was a great way to kick off the Fall and my favorite month!

GO SEEK LOVE T-shirt Fundraiser + 1st FREE Giveaway

For those new to our blog, we are currently on the waiting list (3 MONTHS TODAY!!!) for a baby girl from Ethiopia. We have been told to expect an average wait time of 6-8 months before we receive a referral, but we could get THE CALL at any time. We will need to make two trips to Ethiopia before we can bring her home and so while we're waiting, we are raising the funds to make those two trips. Adoption can be very expensive but we know that our God is bigger than that...He has called us to this and we are trusting Him to provide.

God has given us the amazing opportunity to partner with the Dubois family for the entire month of October. They recently adopted a baby boy from Ethiopia and felt God calling them to help other families in the process of adoption. Each month, they are partnered with another adoptive family, and all of the proceeds from their t-shirt sales for that month go to the partner family. This month, THAT IS US and we could not be more thrilled or more thankful!!!


To check out their beautiful t-shirts, you can either go to their website www.goseeklove.com or you can click on the GO SEEK LOVE button on the right side of our blog ----->.
I would be happy to give you details on how to post this button on your blog as well.

When you go to the website, make their shirt picture larger to read the beautiful words in white that are across the big cross. They are as beautiful as the great design.

Our job is to get the word out about the t-shirt sales and we could not do that without your help!
Do you want to help us???

In an effort to encourage as much participation as possible, we have decided to make this FUN and have a FREE GIVEAWAY 4 Sundays in October. Okay, now that I have your attention (because I know the word FREE gets your attention :-), here is our first giveaway...

It is a basket full of some great products from Amway!



Thank you Monica!!! I have heard some great things about Amway's products.
$50 retail value
Included in this basket are: 1 pkge all purpose wipes (citrus), 1 tube Artistry hand cream, 1 tube Artistry lip shine, 1 set earrings, 1 tube Artistry face polishing scrub with 2 exfoliation cloths, 1 can antioxidant juice (tropical), 1 XS energy shot (wild berry) and 1 pkge of endurance cubes (berry).
*Click to make the pictures bigger*



It is VERY easy to get your name entered into the drawing for this basket of goodies! Here is how you can earn up to 6 ENTRIES:

1. Become a Follower of this blog (if you already are a follower just say so in the comments). Under Followers on the bottom right side of my blog, just click "Follow" and WALLAH, you have your name in the drawing once!

2. Post about this giveaway and our t-shirt sales on Facebook

3. Post about this giveaway and our t-shirt sales on your Blog

4. Head on over to www.amway.com/MonicaBryant to check out Amway's great products and learn more about the products in this basket.

5. and 6. BUYING A T-SHIRT at www.goseeklove.com gets you TWO entries!

Be sure to leave a comment telling me EACH entry that you make. Winner will be selected at random by a drawing on Sunday, October 10th and will be posted on my blog. So be sure to have your entry in no later than Saturday, October 9th. Now is not the time to be shy...if you have been reading or "stalking" my blog for some time now and have never commented, here's your chance! I need lots of comments!!!

Check back each week for a new giveaway. Thank you so much for helping us spread the word and supporting our efforts to bring our daughter home. We couldn't do this without you!

GO into all the world.
SEEK first the kingdom of God.
LOVE your neighbor as yourself.

Wool

There is another new post below this one.
I just saw this on a fellow adoption friend's blog and had to steal what she said.
I thought it was so profound and I love it so I'm just going to quote her.
Last week she saw this:


"It made me cry.

Sometimes I have doubts about adopting transracially. I wonder if we are doing the right thing. Some say that it is not "natural" for a white family to raise a black child. They argue that there are just too many differences between the races. Having never been there, it is hard not to wonder if they are right.

Then God comforted me with the gift of this image. Even in nature, he reminded me, he gives black babies to white mamas. They are both sheep. They are exactly the same on the inside. It just so happens that the wool of one is a different color than the wool of the other. There is nothing weird or unnatural about it. They are a family, just the way that God intended.

Lord, make us a family with the child that you have called us to love. Help us to see no difference but the color of our "wool." "

*Our t-shirt sale fundraiser starts this Friday for the entire month of October! Mark your calendars and start checking my blog on a regular basis. We are going to have 4 giveaways people...FREE STUFF! Every Sunday in the month of October. Come back on Friday to see how you can enter our drawings. It's going to be very easy. And check out www.goseeklove.com right now to pick out what shirt you're going to order...except don't order it until at least October 1st :-)

Number Two

Elijah lost his second tooth on Friday night.
You can see the one to the left of it (his 1st lost tooth) grew in very nicely.
I called him over to me because I noticed him wiggling it a lot.
The thing was hanging by a thread.
I was afraid he was going to swallow it actually.
So one small maneuver by daddy and it was out.

He was very proud.
The tooth fairy only brought him $1.00 this time, not $5.00.
The tooth fairy isn't rich you know and this isn't the magical first tooth.
Here's to another hole in your mouth Elijah.
You're growing up so fast!

When's it our turn?

I've been following this family's blog for many months now but haven't checked in on them in a while. I was thrilled to see that they finally brought their daughter home from Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful video...these always make me tear up, get anxious, excited and praise the Lord all at the same time! Can't wait for our turn!

Soccer, Ranger's & a little video

Last weekend the whole entire Cox family (minus Judah) went to watch the Ranger's whip up on the Yankee's. Judah stayed with Kaki because it was way too late for him (and thank goodness for that because with the rain delay we didn't get home until almost 1:30am!!!!)

Elijah and Lauren before the game:


Most of the crew (minus Deb who took the picture).

I may have had a minor run-in with the drunk 60 year olds in front of us who were celebrating a bachelor party. They were being ridiculously loud, rude and using lots of profanities in front of my 6 year old. I tried to remove Elijah as far down the row as I could but to no avail. I finally confronted the loudest one, who got defensive, in which case Nova and Gary chimed in to help me. They finally left and went to a bar from what we could tell. Thank goodness, everything was much better after that. You can't take your kids anywhere these days.

Removing the rain cover from the field (it delayed the game for over an hour)


Elijah with his rally cap. We won in the bottom of the 9th because the Yankee pitcher hit our batter forcing the run on 3rd home. Woohoo!


----------------------------------

The same day (earlier in the day - my pictures are out of order), Elijah had his first soccer game of the season. His team name is the Fury and daddy is the coach this year. Elijah loves soccer!










Judah had fun playing in a net on the sidelines and bringing Laur-Laur a flower....which he promptly took back right after this photo was taken. :-)






----------------------------------------------
This is just a sweet video I took of Judah earlier this evening. He is at an adorable age and his language is just exploding. He is usually very charismatic and tonight was no exception, so enjoy him really being himself for the camera because I'm rarely able to capture it.



I also have to say so that I don't forget one day... While I was rocking him before bed tonight, he opened his sleepy eyes and said, "I want to see Jesus" and then started singing Jesus Loves Me. It just melted my heart...my prayer is that God will keep drawing him closer and closer to Himself.

All Judah

So Judah and I started a new school year yesterday at YCW. He is in the 2 year old class this year. I am a lead teacher now with a new assistant, LeeAnn. Lori is now our department lead. The day went very smoothly...great class, great co-teacher and Judah had a wonderful day too. He walked right in his class and said bye, used the potty all day with no accidents and waved at me in the hall while in line with no tears. Such a big boy!

Here are some pictures...he is not thrilled with me taking them apparently and he is very proud of his new Buzz Lightyear backpack!









His new teacher, Ms. Jessica. We are so thrilled he has such a wonderful teacher!


---------------------------------------------

And forgive the underwear but while Elijah's at school he tries to fill his brother's shoes...literally. :-)




Oh, and get ready for OCTOBER!!! Our garage sale will be Oct 15-16 at our home. Start saving up your JUNK for me!!!! And get ready for details on our t-shirt fundraiser that has been moved to OCTOBER as well. OCTOBER is shaping up to be a busy month of fundraising for our baby girl. Thanks for your support...we couldn't do it without you!!!

2 MONTHS

I just wanted to write a little post in honor of the fact that today we've been on the waiting list for our daughter for 2 MONTHS!!! In a lot of ways, the time has really flown and other times (like when Elijah asks for the millionth time when we can bring his baby sister home) the time has been crawling by. Here is what I do know though...they told us an average of 6-8 months until we receive a referral for our baby girl and we have 2 MONTHS under our belt!!! That is exciting and is starting to feel like we are really making a dent in this waiting period. Literally any day, and only God knows what day that will be, we'll receive THE CALL and know that our waiting has all been worth it. That will be a day that we'll remember forever.

In honor of our 2 month wait, please watch this sweet video. It's an orphan lullaby for all of the orphans in the world. Baby girl, I pray that someone rocks you and loves on you until we can. We can't wait! Pray and consider how you can help the least of these...if you're not called to adopt, then maybe you can sponsor a child through Compassion International or get involved in an orphan ministry at your church or be a mentor to a child or love on & support a family that is adopting. There are so many options..."the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few".

If you can't get see the whole video, click play and then double click it and it will open in another browser where you can see the whole thing better.